Money Talks
by SpyMaster
Summary: Anthony Bates, a twentyeight year old junior executive for CTT Marketing and Shares disappears after earning his company three million dollars. JS Pairing. Second in a series. Lot's of personal stuff! Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Jack Malone, Samantha Spade, Vivian Johnson, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald are not mine. Other characters are. Without a trace characters belong to CBS, Hank Steinberg and Jerry Bruckheimer. I am just borrowing them for a while and promise to give them back relatively unharmed.

**Spoiler:** Spoilers up till the end of series 2. After that it's all made up. However, there may be some similarity with events in series 3, if there is that is completely unintended.

**Author's Note:** This follows on from Walking Disaster, you can access that from clicking on SpyMaster and going to my profile. Seeing as I have exams coming up I'm not sure how often I'm going to be able to update, so I ask for your patience. Thanks to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta and reassuring me when I've felt that it was descending into crap. It's only thanks to her that this actually got written. I also want to say that while this is a casefile there is a large quantity of personal stuff. Anyways enjoy!

* * *

It had been an ordinary day on Wall Street. CTT Marketing and Shares had done well. One of their high-flying junior executives had spotted a trend, smoothly enabling them to scoop a cool three million dollars.  
"Hey Anthony," Colin Masters called down the corridor, running to catch up with the man nearly at the end. Anthony turned, he looked exhausted. There were great big black rings around his eyes, his business suit was creased and rumpled and his tie was loosened and crooked. "I just heard about the score you made today. Congratulations, I guess we now know who'll be made the new senior executive at the end of the month." Anthony smiled tiredly and shrugged.

"I wouldn't be so sure Colin. I think there's more to the decision than one lucky break. Anyway, I'm not sure if I even want the job," Anthony admitted. Colin frowned in disbelief.  
"Why wouldn't you want the job? You'd have to be nuts to turn it down," Colin told him. Anthony shook his head.

"I don't know, Colin. All this." Anthony gestured around him not pointing to anything in particular, he didn't have to. The whole place screamed money, from the original art works hanging on the wall to the designer coffee mugs. "I don't know if it's for me. I'm thinking of quitting." Colin gaped. He clearly couldn't understand his friend's sentiment.

"Anthony, think about it, please. Think about what you'd be throwing away. You're not thinking straight right now; you're tired. It's been a long day. Go home, sleep on it and I'm sure you'll come to a more logical decision in the morning." Just then a clock somewhere in the building started to chime. Colin pushed the sleeve of his beige, designer suit up to check his silver Rolex watch. "Now look I've got to run or I'll miss my train. Think about it, okay?" He slapped his colleague on the shoulder by way of a parting gesture before running back up the corridor. Anthony shook his head as he turned back down the corridor towards the elevator. Colin didn't understand; nobody understood. Anthony pressed the button. For a change the doors opened immediately revealing it to be deserted. Taking a deep breath, Anthony stepped inside and vanished.

_CTT Headquarters  
14 hours missing_

Sam walked into the spacious lobby. Her first thought upon entering the room was to wonder whether she was in the right place, because where she was sure didn't look like a lobby. All the furniture was made of teak, which must have cost a bomb. All the fittings were either gold or gold-plated, the way they shone it was difficult to tell. There was only one word to describe what she saw and that was lush. Even the colours used on the walls added to the feeling of money, they were rich, deep colours, reds and purples. Spying Danny over the other side talking to a uniform Sam headed over to him. Just as she got there, the uniform left.

"Some place huh," Danny commented smiling at Sam's dumbstruck expression. He'd been here for an hour already and the surroundings had done what they always did, blended into the background. He was sure though that when he'd first entered he'd sported an identical look.

"We are definitely in the wrong business," Sam told him shaking her head in disbelief at the amount of money the decor must have cost; she'd just noticed that the floor was marble. "What have we got?"

"Anthony Bates, twenty-eight. He's a junior executive for CTT Marketing and Shares. He was last seen leaving this building at eight last night," Danny reported reading the details off his notebook. "Viv's interviewing Anthony's boss David Gristoft and Martin's checking out the security videos."

"No Jack?" Sam asked puzzled. Jack had been in Chicago for three days now which was three days more than intended. "I thought he was due back today."

"He is. I got a call from him about half an hour ago. His flight was delayed. He'll be here in an hour or so." Sam nodded. She wasn't sure why she wanted Jack to be here, she didn't know why she missed him. A small voice in the back of her head kept whispering that it was because she was scared he wouldn't come back at all, that Maria would realise what she'd lost and take him back, a chance which Jack would jump at. It was a very small voice though and not one she wanted to listen to right now. She was too confused. It felt like all her feelings and emotions had been tossed up in the air and she was now playing fifty-two card pickup with them. Only this game required that she sorted all the cards before she retrieved them. Danny cleared his throat, Sam jumped startled suddenly realizing that she'd been lost in thought too long.

"So what are we doing?" Danny grimaced.

"We've drawn the short straw. We have the arduous task of interviewing everybody Anthony came into contact with yesterday, in order to construct some semblance of a timeline and find out his mood. Some locals are going to help and Jack can pitch in when he arrives." This time it was Sam's turn to grimace, unless they hit pay dirt early on, this task could take days.

"No girlfriends or relatives?" Sam asked hopefully, already knowing the answer. Danny shook his head, he understood what she was getting at, girlfriends and relatives were always the first port of call.

"Only his mother, who's in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. I've got a couple of agents on his apartment, so far nothing of import." Sam nodded in resignation. This was not going to be fun.

_CTT Headquarters: David Gristoft's office  
14 hours missing_

Vivian looked out of the window at the skyline captured there. The view looked like the picture postcard that tourists inevitably purchased to remind them of their stay in the city. As it was a corner office there were two views, both equally as spectacular. She was so mesmerised by the view, she didn't hear David Gristoft enter the office and come up behind her.

"It is a beautiful view," he commented almost distractedly. "You know this office would have been Anthony's, I was going to recommend him to succeed me when I get promoted at the end of the month."

"Would have been? Was going to? That's the past tense Mr Gristoft. Do you have reason to believe that harm has come to Mr Bates?" David Gristoft instinctively stepped back from Vivian and held up his hands as if to ward off an attack.

"No, no, wait a minute. I just . . I . . well... He's not here. This job meant the world to Anthony. No matter what happened, he was always here. He's never even taken a sick day, let alone any vacation time. I guess I just figured that if he wasn't here then something must have happened to him," he explained. Vivian nodded, digesting not just the answer but how it had been delivered. At the beginning he'd been stammering and stumbling over his words but by the end he was very slick and confident - a practiced liar or just somebody who can think on their feet and recover quickly? Vivian wasn't sure, but she did know that she didn't trust him.

"I see. So, in your opinion, Anthony wasn't somebody to just walk away. The person you just described to me sounds like they could have been stressed. Was he stressed, Mr Gristoft? If so could he have suffered some kind of breakdown?"

"Anthony? No. He was a workaholic, sure. But he loved his work. It wasn't like work to him." Gristoft struggled to explain. "Having the responsibility of all those people's money can be stressful. We lose many good junior executives a year because they burn out. Anthony though, he was never wrong. He was a winner and he knew it. It was a game to him, a game he took seriously but a game nonetheless."

"Did he have any problems at work that you know of? No irate investors or jealous colleagues?" Anthony's employer shook his head.

"Well what about his personal life. Any girlfriend troubles . . ."

"I really wouldn't know about that," he interrupted her checking his gold Rolex watch. "I admired Anthony but I was still his boss, not his friend. You'd be better off talking to Colin, Colin Masters. He and Anthony were good friends, they played squash together."

"Thank you, Mr Gristoft. We'll do that." Vivian smiled civilly before exiting, leaving David Gristoft staring out of the window. As the door closed, he let out a huge sigh of relief.


	2. Chapter 2

_CTT Headquarters: Security Shack  
14 hours missing_

Martin sat impatiently drumming his fingers on the hard plastic chair next to him. The contrast between the room he was in and the lobby was astounding. This was definitely not the area the public were meant to see. The paintwork looked years old, it was peeling and faded to such an extent it was impossible to work out what the original colour had been. The room itself was lit by a single bulb dangling from the ceiling. Every so often, when somebody moved about upstairs, the light began to swing in an unnerving fashion, casting flickering shadows around the room. The seat Martin was in was the only chair that wasn't broken in some way. But it more than made up for that fact by being exceedingly uncomfortable. Whether this was to discourage people from waiting or the fact that people didn't normally have to wait Martin wasn't sure. Irritably he checked his watch for what felt like the twentieth time. He'd only been waiting for thirty minutes but it felt much longer. But then thirty minutes was a long time to wait when you were an FBI agent. If someone hadn't appeared that second, Martin had been considering charging all concerned with impeding a federal investigation.

"Agent Fitzgerald, I'm Dave Hoskins, Chief of security. What can I do for you?" Dave smiled genially offering his hand. Seeing the balding middle-aged man in front of him, dressed in pseudo cop gear but acting like it was the real thing, Martin felt a hint of pity. Why did ex-cops always seem to end up with jobs like this, a pale imitation of their previous careers? Swallowing his annoyance, Martin shook Dave's hand, taking care not to show disgust at the cold clamminess of the grip.

"I'd like to see all your security tapes from yesterday, from all the cameras," Martin informed him succinctly.

"All of them!" Dave exclaimed, astonished. "You're going to be busy." Martin nodded following Dave through a dingy, narrow corridor to the security tape room. Much to his surprise Martin found himself looking at a very modern setup, while the decor could still do with some attention, the equipment was state of the art. Three large TFT monitors adorned the wall at the end, a large triangular desk wedged beneath them. A young man in his twenties, still with the scars of acne not long forgotten peppering his skin and dressed in the same uniform as Dave, albeit much smarter looking, sat in front of them staring intently. His hand occasionally moved on a roller-ball that was laying in an indent specially made for it in the desk. This movement, Martin noticed, changed the display, zooming in, changing angles or even cameras when appropriate.

"We had a spot of bother a few months back. That's when them upstairs decided to bring in Charlie and his baby," Dave explained. He'd noticed Martin's expression. It was the expression everybody got when they saw this room for the first time. Up till now everything had fit with their preconception of the place - dingy, aged rooms with old broken furniture and a balding, middle-aged ex-cop with a beer belly stretching his rent-a-cop uniform. The last thing they expected was state of the art technology. They probably expected state of the ark "Charlie, Agent Fitzgerald wants all of yesterday's footage," Dave told him. Charlie nodded and swiveled his chair round so he was parallel to the keyboard. He kept his arm over by the roller-ball until he'd completed the action. This configured one of the displays to a more recognisable windows setup. He then started tapping furiously at one of the three keyboards in front of him. A couple of minutes later he leant down and retrieved three DVD's.

"Double sided and dual layered," Charlie informed him, slipping the discs into wallets and handing them to Martin. He then swiveled his chair back round so that his attention was once again solely on the displays.

"Thanks," Martin said. He hadn't understood what Charlie had just told him but he'd pass it onto the tech experts the FBI kept for such occasions.

"Charlie doesn't talk much, except to his baby that is. Anything else I can do for you?" Dave asked. Martin, caught on the hop because of the speed of getting the footage, had to think for a moment.

"Do you have a way of checking who's in the building and who's not?" Dave nodded and leant forward tapping Charlie on the shoulder. A moment later, Martin was handed another disc.

"Logs of everybody who came and went yesterday," Dave explained "Anything else?" Unable to think of anything, Martin shook his head. The guard then politely gestured for him to leave.

"I may need to speak with you again," Martin added as Dave showed him out, anxious to cover himself in case he'd forgotten something obvious.

"Anytime, Agent Fitzgerald. Anytime."

_CTT Headquarters  
15 hours missing_

"Well thank you for your time," Sam finished, trying not to sound as discouraged as she felt. They'd only been interviewing for an hour but already she was getting frustrated.

"Who's next Danny?" she asked tiredly. Danny flashed her a quick smile of encouragement before looking back down at his list.

"Colin Masters. Viv says he's a good friend of Anthony's. Maybe he'll know something of use," Danny replied. At that moment there was an abrupt banging on the door, before Danny could yell come in, the knocker entered. Sam, who was studying her notes, could hear this and was about to remonstrate with the person when she felt a familiar sensation.

"How was Chicago?" Sam enquired, pointedly not looking up. Jack couldn't help but smile at that, she always had been able to tell it was him. He could neither explain, or comprehend, the happiness and relief that coursed through him, when he saw that she still had that skill. And not only did she still have the skill, she cared enough to let him know that. Danny looked from Jack to Sam and then back at Jack again. For a reason he didn't know, he felt that he was somehow intruding upon a private moment. Uncomfortably he cleared his throat.

"Chicago was expected," Jack replied, noticing Danny's unease and realising that he'd paused to long. He didn't want to make this a heavy emotional subject for round the office. It was already difficult enough as it was. Part of him wondered if that was him projecting his unease on the rest of the team. He wanted so much to be able to break down and confide in someone, Sam to be precise, all his hopes and fears and all his feelings and worries. The other, saner, part of him knew he couldn't and shouldn't do that. His problems were his alone, he'd chosen this path and rocky as it was now proving to be, he had to deal with it.

"Viv wants you upstairs to help her go over Anthony's office," he told Danny. The younger agent nodded. He'd long since ceased to wonder how Jack came by all the information that he did. Jack had only just arrived, after all, and already he knew more than he did. Shaking his head slightly he shot a questioning glance at Sam as he left. Sam ignored the glance, it held more questions than she cared to admit, let alone answer.

"Colin Masters is waiting outside," Jack said softly breaking into Sam's thoughts. Sam nodded, grateful for the interruption and distraction. Smiling slightly, Jack stepped back and opened the door, showing Colin Masters in. He too was grateful beyond belief for the distraction of the case. It seemed wrong to be relieved that someone had gone missing but relieved was the only way to describe the way he felt. The case offered his mind something else to mull over besides his impending divorce, Hanna's animosity and his own simmering feelings towards Sam.

"If you'll sit down just there Mr Masters," Jack gestured to the seat across from Sam pulling up a chair for himself and placing it next to hers.

"We've been led to believe that you and Mr Bates were good friends, is that so?" Sam began, staring intently at Colin Masters, a pen poised over her notebook.

"Yeah, Anthony and I go way back. We started here together seven years ago and been friends ever since," Colin told them looking directly at the two Federal agents, apparently entirely at ease. Jack frowned, he didn't doubt that what Colin Masters said was true, but something was off. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Did Mr Bates mention any problems he was having either at work or home?" Sam asked wondering slightly why Jack had decided to play the silent partner. That was normally a tactic he reserved for suspects.

"No." Colin Masters shook his head. "I mean Anthony had his share of problems, what with his mom and everything. But then I guess we all do."

"Would Anthony just up and leave," Jack butted in staring piercingly at him. Colin turned his head so he could look straight at the agent.

"No, he would have told me. I just don't understand it," Colin replied. _'Aha'_ Jack thought. _'That was it. That's what was bothering him. It was the level of sincerity that laced every word Colin Masters spoke. It was like he was trying to convince them of something. Why did he feel he needed to do that? What did he have to hide? Something wasn't right here.'  
_  
"Did you see Mr Bates yesterday?" Sam continued looking at Jack and wondering what he was thinking.

"Yes on the floor. I didn't get much chance to speak to him though. We were very busy."

"No other time," Jack checked. He shook his head.

"Right. Well if you think of anything else don't hesitate to contact us." Masters stood up and firmly grasped the agent's hand.

"Will do," he promised, smiling sickeningly. Jack returned the expression somewhat sceptically as he showed him the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks as always to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta and thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry the updates are a bit few and far between but I have exams at the moment. Enjoy!

_  
CTT Headquarters  
15.5 hours missing_

Danny walked into Anthony's office, or more correctly he stood in the doorway looking in. Vivian was sitting at the desk with a huge pile of folders in front of her. Other folders were scattered across the floor and on the chair wedged between the filing cabinet and the door. Miscellaneous litter was also everywhere. There were at least four coffee mugs that Danny could see and many more of the takeaway kind from Starbucks. Hershey bars and M&M's packets seemed to lie everywhere except the bin. _That might be because there isn't a bin_ Danny thought, scanning the room again.

"Are you sure that he's not just buried under this crap?" Danny asked smiling. Viv looked up at him shaking her head in amusement.

"I'm sure. Although I think stress could have something to do with it. I've never seen so many files in such a small space," she informed him, swivelling the chair round with difficulty to reach into the cabinet for another armful of files.

"That's not mentioning the caffeine and junk food addiction." Danny poked at one of the Hershey bar wrappers idly.

"Here," Vivian leaned over the desk to hand Danny the files. "The secretary outside said you could use her desk."Danny smiled slightly and nodded turning to leave, half stumbling over a stack of files on the floor. Feeling very grateful that he'd got out of Anthony's office without breaking his neck, he walked over to the nearest secretary's desk. Putting a charm-laden smile on, the agent cleared his throat. The secretary turned round from where she'd been fiddling with a jammed filing cabinet drawer to look at Danny.

"Special Agent Taylor, you said I could use your desk," he stated, slapping on his trademark grin for good measure. The secretary smiled and gestured to it.

"Sure, sit down. Can I get you some coffee or anything?" she asked. Danny nodded.

"That would be great thanks." He sat down on the chair and immediately bumped his knees painfully on the underside of the desk. Wincing, he adjusted the chair until it was comfortable. He then started to order the files. This was going to be a very long and boring day. He couldn't decide which was worse, this or helping Martin go through the security tapes, another tedious exercise if ever there was one. A couple of minutes later the secretary brought Danny a large mug of steaming black coffee.

"Thanks," he smiled, genuinely grateful. The secretary smiled back and perching on the edge of the desk craned her neck to look at the files. Danny stared uncomfortably down at the files for a moment before looked back up. "Um . ."

"Diane," the secretary enlightened him. Danny nodded.

"Diane er . ." He searched for a polite way to tell her to go away. It was a little difficult seeing as it was her desk. "Diane do you know why Anthony had so many files? Did he have that many clients?" Diane shook her head.

"No, he doesn't normally have this many. Over the last few months he's been requesting a lot of files, you know one's that belong to other executives. He said he was just looking them over. He kept some and gave some back. I think most of the company's files have probably been through his office recently," she pondered. Danny frowned thinking hard. If Anthony was looking over all the files, perhaps he'd discovered something, something worth killing for?

"Thanks for that," Danny mumbled distractedly, his mind elsewhere.

_CTT Headquarters  
16 hours missing_

Back downstairs Jack was writing down his impressions of their last interviewee while Sam cracked on with their next one. They'd just interviewed Anthony's secretary, a Diane Childer. Jack wasn't sure why he'd expected anymore information from he than anybody but the fact was that he had. Maybe it was because she was young, pretty and available, and Anthony had been a good-looking, successful and single businessman. The attraction was obvious and while part of Jack was pleased to find out that not every male took advantage of their secretary it didn't exactly help them. Just then a knock came at the door, Jack looked over at Sam who appeared to be finishing up another routine, boring interview.

"Come in," Jack said in a monotone voice, only keeping looking up for long enough to register that it was Danny. Danny seeing that Sam was busy headed over to Jack.

"Have you talked to Diane yet?" Danny asked, taking the seat to Jack's right.

"Yeah, she didn't know anything," Jack replied still writing, to all intents and purposes almost ignoring Danny.

"She probably didn't think that it was worth mentioning, but when I talked to her upstairs she told me that the majority of the companies files have gone through Anthony's office the last few months." Jack looked up at that and raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. He leaned back and started twirling his pen between his fingers, effortlessly slipping back into the role of senior agent, so much so that he didn't even realise it.

"What you thinking?" Jack inquired. Danny smiled and held up a finger to indicate that he was coming to that.

"Now I told Viv about the files and we searched Anthony's office again, this time with a fine tooth-comb. We found this." Danny handed Jack a very creased piece of paper that looked as if it had been folded and stuffed in a pocket many times, it had also originally been torn out of a notebook. Jack took it and studied the writing on it for a moment before looking back up at Danny, a baffled look on his face. "I know," Danny sympathised. "We think it's in some kind of code. I reckon it's Anthony's notes on what he discovered in the files. Viv wanted you to have a look at it to see what you thought." Jack nodded and looked at the paper again. _'225-631 214! 3.13?'_ was the first line. Jack read it over and over but he couldn't make any sense out of it.

"I don't know," Jack gave up and handed the paper back to Danny, "Have you faxed a copy to the Bureau's resident code cracker?"

"No, not yet," Danny told him standing back up and slipping the piece of paper into his inside pocket. "Viv and I are going to box up the files and take them back to the office. When you're finished here maybe you can come up and help us, we need a little muscle," Danny smiled, Jack nodded his consent and Danny left leaving Jack more than a little puzzled.

_FBI Headquarters  
17 hours missing_

Danny, Sam and Jack walked into the unit, each had an armful of boxes full of files. All three deposited their load on the conference table. Danny and Sam then began the taxing job of sorting through all the files. Jack started to help them, reaching into his box and withdrawing a bundle of papers.

"Jack," Vivian called across the unit from the doorway. Jack turned round and saw Vivian beckon to him. She looked serious. He hoped that it wasn't bad news. He didn't know how much more bad news he could take. As soon as Jack started to walk towards her Vivian turned and went back to her office. Jack followed her in shutting the door firmly behind him.

"What's up?" he asked, taking a seat on what felt to him like the wrong of side of the desk. He'd worked missing persons for twelve years - eight of those years had been spent behind that desk. Vivian sighed. She'd been waiting to talk to him ever since they'd successfully closed the Alec Parker case. Now that he was here though, she didn't quite know what to say.

"I guess I just wanted your advice on something," Vivian began. Jack looked at her his eyes narrowing slightly.

"My advice? I don't quite know why you'd want that, particularly right now. Go ahead though, I'll do my best," he promised, hoping that it wasn't a family problem. He had enough of his own to deal with. Although he was fairly certain Vivian wouldn't ask him about anything like that, knowing how sensitive that issue currently was. A work problem though, that could also prove tricky. Viv had his job now and although he was happy with that, it still was a little awkward.

"Something happened during the Alec Parker case . ." Jack nodded waiting for her to go on but not wanting to hurry her. "You might have heard Tom Douglas tried to bluff us. He said he was going to blow up the plane. Samantha saw through the bluff and arrested him."

"I hadn't heard about that actually. I talked briefly on the phone with Danny this morning. All he told me was that Alec Parker had been recovered alive and that we had a new case. I don't see the problem though. It turned out ok. I mean he didn't actually have a bomb . ."

"No but he could of," Vivian interrupted suddenly standing up. She couldn't take sitting down any longer. "I froze Jack, I froze. I just shut down, if Samantha hadn't been there . ." She tailed off. Jack sighed and thought for a moment. He knew why Vivian had frozen. He knew how difficult that situation must have been for her. Déjà vu is a terrible thing sometimes. It took it out the best of them, whether you were six and facing a hijacker or thirty-eight and facing a hijacker. The memories of the first incident and the terror you'd felt would come back to haunt you the second time. When you thought that you were that six year old kid again, there was no way you could take down a hijacker, a federal agent or not. It was perfectly reasonable and everybody would understand. This couldn't come out though. There would be an investigation into whether Vivian was capable of handling the unit. Just because Jack knew she was more than proficient, didn't mean that everyone would have the same level of confidence.

"But she _was_ there." Jack told her firmly standing up and awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to reassure her and provide some small measure of comfort.

"I just don't know if I'm cut out for this leadership thing, Jack," Vivian admitted. "How did you do it?" Jack sighed again. This was extremely uncomfortable, but Viv was his friend and he had to help her somehow.

"You make a great unit head. I wouldn't have recommended you for the job otherwise. As for how I did it? I remember you telling me, on more occasions than I care to admit, what a bad job I was making of it. You're doing a fantastic job and will continue to do so," Jack stated firmly. Vivian looked at him, uncertainty plaguing her features.

"You think?" She looked for confirmation. Jack nodded.

"I don't think. I _know_."


	4. Chapter 4

_FBI Headquarters  
18 hours missing_

Jack stretched hearing, rather than feeling, his back crack - the perils of leaning over a table for too long. Standing up to loosen his stiff muscles, he looked over at Sam. Her focus was completely on the task at hand, in this instance on the files they were going through. Her hair was straying out of its ponytail and falling across her face. At that moment he wanted nothing more than just to reach across and tuck it behind her ear. Under other circumstances he might have done - maybe if this was a late night session with just the two of them, not when Danny was sitting across the table observing everything with that sharp mind of his. Jack really didn't know whether Danny knew about the relationship he and Sam had engaged in. He _was_ sure however, that he didn't want him to find anything worthy of comment. Not when he was meeting with his lawyer tomorrow to draw up preliminary divorce papers. Tearing his eyes away from Sam he checked his watch.

"Anybody hungry?" Jack asked. "I'm going to make a trip to the machine." Danny looked up from the file he'd been staring at, wishing he'd suggested that himself, anything to get him away from these damn papers for five minutes. They needed Martin on this. All the numbers were driving him crazy.

"Sure Jack, sandwich would be good," he replied. Jack nodded turning to Sam who was yet to acknowledge that anybody had spoken. Sam could feel Jack's eyes boring into the top of her head, making it impossible to do what she'd intended and that was simply to finish the sentence she was on. It was hard enough to understand what these files meant anyway without uncomfortable interruptions.

"I'll have a sandwich and some coffee if you're going." She didn't look up. She didn't want to. It would mean meeting Danny's inquisitive glance and Jack's questioning eyes. If she did that she'd never get any work done today. Jack nodded again, even though he knew Sam couldn't see him, and fishing for the change in his pocket headed out to the machine. On his way he had to pass Martin who was still going over the footage from yesterday, even fast forwarding through parts wasn't making the job any easier. Worse still it didn't exactly captivate his mind, allowing him even more time to think about the only thing that had been on his mind recently, the only person. He needed to let it go. He needed to at least try and get over her. Wallowing in self pity, holding out for a day that would never come was no way to live. Jack knocked on the plate glass door jolting Martin from his thoughts.

"You want anything from the machine?" he asked, jingling the change in his hand.

"Yeah, I'll have whatever," Martin replied distractedly. Jack frowned, surely what Martin was watching couldn't be that interesting. Out of habit, he still thought of Martin as his rookie agent, Jack stepped further into the room. Looking over Martin's shoulder Jack looked at the TV screen, nothing interesting just their missing person walking down the corridor towards the elevator. Suddenly Jack's eyes narrowed as he saw the person who'd just come on screen, running after their guy. It was Colin Masters.

_FBI Headquarters  
18 hours missing_

Vivian sat nervously outside Van Doren's office. She'd been sitting here for nearly an hour. Surely Van Doren knew that she couldn't afford to wait, that she had a case to work and a unit to run. She'd been going to help Jack, Sam and Danny go through the files but Van Doren had called her up here. As everybody knows when the boss calls you run. Vivian checked her watch again for what felt like the umpteenth time, she was not normally an impatient person but this waiting was getting to her. This had to be about that airplane incident. She should have known that there would have been an inquiry. When the people higher up had checked their reports and seen that it had been Samantha that had saved the day and not her, they would have wondered why. What was she going to tell Van Doren? At that moment, the senior agent walked into the waiting room outside her office, spotting Vivian instantly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Agent Johnson, I was longer than expected," Van Doren apologised showing Vivian into her office. Vivian nodded. She wanted to say that the she didn't have the time to wait around whilst the boss finished eating lunch, but instead she remained silent. Van Doren motioned for Vivian to sit down in the chair across from her. Viv wanted to decline and say that she'd been sitting down for long enough, but down she sat.

"Now I'm sure you know what this is about," Van Doren began. She was sorry to have to be the one to break it to her, as much as she liked and respected Jack, Vivian was a much better unit head in the fact that she didn't go looking for trouble the way her predecessor did. However, her superiors must have their reasons and it wasn't for her to fathom quite what those reasons were. They'd been trying to years to get rid of Jack. This had been their chance and they'd given it away. Viv took a deep breath, ready to defend herself and her actions.

"I'm very sorry Agent Johnson, it's been decided that Agent Malone's job will be returned to him. Apparently the paperwork for your current promotion has yet to be processed, therefore the decision had not been finalised. However, it will be noted on your record that you led the unit in two cases, very capably I might add. I'm sure that there will be another position available very soon, in which case naturally you will be the first choice." Vivian felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. _'They're taking my job away from me,'_ she thought. She could feel the anger welling up inside her at the unfairness and unjustness of this. It wasn't her fault that Jack's wife had kicked him out, yet she was being punished for it. This had been her chance, her chance to stay doing what she loved, working missing persons and be a unit chief. Despite what Van Doren said she was never going to get another chance, not like this anyway. Gone were the thoughts that she wasn't up to the job, gone were the worries and insecurities. In its place was a flash of cold fury and bitterness, the strength of which she didn't know she'd had in her to feel. "Are you all right with this, Agent Johnson?" Van Doren checked. She'd just watched an immense variety of emotions cross Vivian's habitually impassive face, all had been expected but none exactly welcomed. Part of Van Doren pitied Jack for the storm that was about to fall on him, the other part of her felt glad that he was going to get part of what he deserved.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Vivian managed to reply, choking down her anger for the moment. If she was going to yell at somebody, it was going to be someone that deserved it. That someone was going to be Jack.


	5. Chapter 5

_FBI Headquarters  
18.5 hours missing_

Jack, Sam, Danny and Martin were all gathered round the conference table when Vivian got there. They'd been waiting for her. Jack wanted to bring in Colin Masters. He probably could have done it on his own authority but he didn't want to overstep the mark. Not the way Viv was today. Today she needed to feel in control and in charge, even if it was just over the small things. Vivian walked over to them. She didn't want to cause a scene but the closer she got to Jack the angrier she felt herself becoming.

"Hey Viv we discovered . ." Jack began. For no discernable reason, his voice grated on Vivian's nerves. Perhaps it was because she felt that she should have spoken first. Van Doren had said she should complete this case in charge and she would. Suddenly, of its own accord, her hand swung out and slapped Jack soundly on the cheek. As the sharp crack of the contact was still echoing around the room the words started to flow as if someone had just ruptured the dam.

"How dare you? I trusted you. I thought that you were my friend! Well friends don't lie to each other's faces, Jack. You patronised me and treated me like I was a little kid. Did you think I wouldn't know?" Jack stared at her completely dumbstruck. He had no idea what she was talking about. All over the unit everybody went quiet and turned to watch the argument. Despite being in a room full of Federal agents, not one person thought to break up the fight. Danny looked uneasily between Jack and Vivian. He didn't know why but he'd seen this coming. Yet that knowledge did nothing to ease the discomfort at seeing two of his best friends, two people that he almost considered surrogate parents, broken apart by something so seemingly trivial as a job. Martin looked at Sam, at her horrified expression. He knew he shouldn't but he was quite enjoying watching Jack get his comeuppance. He was only sorry that it appeared to be upsetting Sam. Perhaps now she'd see that he wasn't such an angel after all.

"Viv, I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm supposed to have done, you . ." Jack started his eyes fixed on Vivian's face, unable to tear his eyes away even if he wanted to. He'd never seen her so angry before, not even after a tough case had gone horrifically wrong.

"How can you say you don't understand?" Vivian interrupted him. "They would have told you before they told me!"

"Told me what?" Jack asked, now more confused than he was hurt or angry.

"Congratulations, you've got your job back," Vivian spat, suddenly realising, with some trepidation, that everybody around her had fallen silent. She could feel all their eyes upon her. Before Jack could open his mouth, to explain once more that he didn't know what she was talking about, she turned and walked out of the unit. She briefly considered going to the office that would be hers for only a few more precious hours. But instead she turned right and rather ashamedly sought stereotypical solace in the ladies' room. Her office was way too open anyway, what with the glass door. Right now she needed to be alone.

"Well, congratulations Jack," Martin said as he headed out of the unit. His eyes like stone and his words laced with sarcasm. As soon as he said it he knew he shouldn't. It was wrong, both professionally and personally, to take sides. He was only taking them because for whatever reason at that moment he had hated Jack. He had hated him for taking Viv's job and, more tellingly, he resented him for having what he so badly wanted but could never have - Sam. Danny listened to Martin's barbed words as he watched his friend walk out of the unit. He knew instinctively that Martin wasn't just supporting Viv, with whom he was very close. There was something more to it than that.

"Martin and I will go and bring Colin Masters in. Why don't you two keep going on the files," Danny suggested flashing a reassuring smile at Sam who was still reeling from Vivian's outburst. He looked with guarded sympathy at Jack who was still staring at the spot where Vivian had been standing, his brain unable to process what had just occurred and why. Shaking his head sadly Danny hurried out of the unit after Martin. Jack watched him go feeling, at that moment, more detached from the scene that had just occurred. Instead of feeling sad or angry like he knew he was supposed to, he felt proud. The thought struck him, Danny was going to make a damn fine supervisory agent one day. Jack, while he gave Danny all the credit for turning his own life around the way he had, took some pride in the fact that he'd helped the younger man along the way. After some of the things he'd been accused of recently, this thought in itself was a refreshing change.

"Hey Martin," Danny called after him reaching the elevator doors just before they closed. "We've got to go bring in Colin Masters."

"Ok," Martin acknowledged grudgingly, pressing the button again to close the elevator doors. Danny watched him. He honestly didn't know if he should say anything but he knew he couldn't leave things the way they were. Martin was his friend and he was hurting. Danny didn't know why. He didn't even know if he could do anything that would even vaguely help the situation. But he had to try. They couldn't go on like this. The team, his surrogate family, was getting torn apart.

"You ok? I couldn't help but notice back there . . . I mean if you need to talk or anything, man . ."

"I'm fine." Martin cut across. "I'm fine." Danny looked sceptically at him but left it, for now.

_FBI Headquarters  
19 hours missing_

Jack sneaked a glance at Sam from behind the pile of files he was going through. She looked worried, her normally smooth forehead was clenched into a deep frown, she was also chewing her pen distractedly. This wasn't the cool, calm and collected Sam Spade that he knew. For the first time ever he tried to view their situation, whatever that was, from her perspective, and for the first time ever he struggled. He had also prided himself on his ability to get into somebody else's skin, it was a skill he used regularly to help find their missing person, a skill that up till now had never failed him.

"You ok?" Jack asked on impulse, Sam looked up at him annoyed at having been interrupted but as soon as her eyes met his she softened.

"I'm ok Jack," Sam replied softly, "You ok, that was one hell of a slap Viv gave you?" Jack winced automatically reaching up to touch his slightly swollen cheek, he hadn't checked yet in a mirror but he knew that it was going to turn purple, if it hadn't already that is.

"Perhaps I deserved it, I mean I did recommend her for a job and then take that back," Jack admitted feeling a fresh wave of guilt. He hadn't wanted his job back, he hadn't asked for that, all he wanted was to work missing persons again.

"You didn't know about it though did you? Tell me you didn't know about it?" Jack shook his head relieving Sam more than he could ever have guessed.

"No I didn't know about it but how do I convince her of that?" Sam thought for a moment, that was a question and a half, a question that she had no idea the answer to.

"She'll realise it once she's calmed down I'm sure." Sam shot a glance over to Viv's office, about five minutes ago, nearly half an hour after the scene Viv had emerged from the ladies room. Her tears had been spent, her makeup reapplied and everybody studiously avoided her gaze, it was a little tense but it could have been worse. Wanting to change the subject matter Sam looked back down at her notes.

"I think I've got something," she announced, Jack nodded.

"Go on."

"Well it's fairly obvious to me that the first number. Say 225-631, refers to a specific file, it's just each number is one more than it really is and moved along one. So the number 225-631 is really 911-452." Jack frowned and started searching for the file in question, Sam joined him and eventually they found it hidden under five other files the other side of the table. "The McKeever file."

"Right ok that makes sense but what do the rest of the numbers mean, to take your example 214 and 3.13, not to mention the exclamation and question marks that follow?" Jack asked, he'd been trying to tackle those while searching through the files Anthony had, hoping that even if they couldn't decipher his notes they could find what it was that he'd found.

"I don't know," Sam confessed, Jack sighed.

"Then we still in the dark. Perhaps Colin Masters can shed some light, he's already proven that he's got something to hide, maybe he's involved in whatever Anthony discovered," Jack speculated, Sam shrugged.

"Anything's possible, we can ask him when Danny and Martin get back."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thanks as usual to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta and helping me make this chapter readable.No casefile stuff for a change really, all personal. Good news though, I have finished this episode. I just need to type it up because I had to handwrite the lot but even so should be getting updates a lot more frequently. I've even started on my next one._  
_

_FBI car in transit  
19.5 hours missing_

Back at the FBI office, Danny had made the decision to drive, a decision he was now regretting making. If Martin had seemed on edge before, he definitely seemed so now. He went from periods of distracting restlessness to being silent and motionless. If Danny hadn't known better he would have thought that he was on something, because this was the kind of behaviour he was more used to seeing in a junkie. Something was definitely bothering him and while Danny was loathe to interfere in his team-mates personal lives unless they specifically asked for his help, it had now reached the stage where he was no longer sure that if a situation arose, Martin would be capable of covering his back.

"Look man, something's not right with you. I know that you don't want to talk about it but I think that you have to," Danny told him seriously. Martin sighed. He understood Danny's concern, maybe even at some level welcomed it, but that still didn't make it any easier. Though if he was honest with himself, it had got to the stage where he needed to talk to somebody, anybody, because he felt that if he didn't he would go insane.

"It's complicated," Martin began expecting Danny to chip in. When he didn't, he reluctantly continued. "You see the night we closed the Palmer case, you know that Samantha and I left the bar together . ." Martin shot a glance at Danny who had his eyes fixed on the road.

"Yeah," Danny acknowledged, after a pause, taking care to keep his tone neutral.

"Right, well let's just say that I joined her for a nightcap." Martin paused again, desperately trying to gauge Danny's reaction. Danny kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road. What he thought didn't matter. What did matter was that he helped his friend through the minefield he'd unfortunately parachuted himself into. "Well, the next day she said that it wasn't a mistake but that it wasn't exactly something to be repeated."

"And you don't feel the same way," Danny added, marginally easing the tension which had suddenly crept into the car.

"I can't help it," he shrugged. "I know that it sounds fast, but I think . . I think that I…." Martin trailed off. It might feel true, and he might really need to say it. But that didn't mean that the words either would, or indeed _should_ come – especially in front of his obviously uncomfortable colleague. Danny silently thanked whichever deity had just given them both this reprieve.

"Look man, I . . I'll tell you what you need." Danny grinned, mostly out of relief, and for the first time since this conversation had begun, shot a glance at Martin.

"You need to get out a bit more, see the talent, learn that there's plenty more fish in the sea, and all that. How about when this case is over you come over to my neighbourhood. I have several so called 'Gentleman Clubs' within walking distance of my apartment. We'll go out, have some fun, and I bet you that within ten seconds of walking in the door you'll have forgotten all about Sam."

"Yeah ok," Martin agreed. He sounded more than a little unsure but, Danny noted, he sounded a hell of a lot better than he had five minutes ago.

"Yeah, you wait and see," Danny winked.

_FBI Headquarters  
20 hours missing_

_'This wasn't happening' _Viv thought, _'It couldn't be, it just seemed all so unreal.' _

That couldn't have been her that gave Jack that massive bruise could it? She never got angry, she prided herself on being grounded, the one who always kept their cool. To think this was all over a job was unbelievable, she hadn't thought herself that ambitious.

Sure it had been a bitter disappointment, knowing what was coming hadn't helped her. She'd been in denial, confident that Jack wouldn't do that to her. For years now she'd been sending off applications for command posts all over the city, that was her archilles heel, the job had to be in the city. What with her family she couldn't accept a position anywhere else and a command position only came up once or twice a year.

She sighed quietly to herself. She _had_ her family. She would get over this; she knew it. In that respect, regardless of what had happened earlier, she was lucky – luckier than her colleagues, at least.

Once again, her train of thoughts brought her full-circle – Jack.

He _was_ her friend. She'd known him for years. Now she'd calmed down, she couldn't believe that he would really have done that to her. He'd done a lot of stupid things in his life and a lot of things that she didn't approve of, but she'd never known him to be disloyal. It didn't make any sense.

Fighting her sudden feelings of doubt and guilt, Vivian looked out of the glass wall over to the unit. Jack and Samantha were sitting at the conference table still knee-deep in those files.

_'If it doesn't make much sense to me, it probably makes even less sense to Samantha.' _Vivian judged.

In a subconscious break from thinking about her own problems she allowed her thoughts to drift to her co-workers - something she'd not had to do, she realised, in quite a while. She'd noticed, of course, the distress written all over her female colleague's face when Jack had announced the fact he was leaving for Chicago. Everybody probably had, the shock and desolation had been so pronounced. Watching them though the glass wall, she started to appreciate the fact that she'd been idealistic enough to believe that it had ended there, that what they'd had between them truly was over and that Jack's revelation had just been the last nail in the coffin. In what was becoming the theme of her day, she probably should have known better.

She'd known about Jack and Samantha probably longer than they had themselves. Although this particular talent seemed to have failed her in the morning's meeting with Van Doren, she'd always been observant that way. She thought now what she'd thought back then. Jack was a fool. Oh, she knew he cared about his family. As a product of his own childhood, he probably cared more than most. But he was doing the wrong thing.

That said, she could understand the attraction. Samantha was young, pretty and available. She fitted the stereotype almost exactly. That was probably her one real problem with the affair, not the affair itself. As beyond her understanding and experiences as their actions were, affairs happened everyday and were, a little sadly maybe, a fact of life.

No, the problem she had with the affair was that while it may appear on the surface to be the glaring example of a stereotypical mid-life crisis, it was not. The day she'd realised that the feelings between the two of them ran deeper than purely physical fulfillment, was the day she'd wanted to say something. Jack had a family. And while he had no business having an affair, he definitely had no business falling in love. But fall in love he did.

Jack was an old friend, and contrary to what many would now believe, she cared about him. While it was probably wrong to wonder, evaluate and judge the lives and actions of others, even in her own mind. In this particular case she just couldn't help but wonder after all this, was now that Jack was getting a divorce, an occurrence she had expected a couple of years ago, what would he do about Samantha?

This would be complicated now he'd got his position back. He'd be breaking at least half a dozen conduct codes and could still lose his job. While that hadn't deterred him much the last time around, this time there was one less roadblock preventing the two of them from taking their relationship somewhere. And if this were to happen, then going public would not really be an option.

_'Why did you want your job back, Jack?' _Viv wondered for the umpteenth time that afternoon. _'It would have been a whole lot better for everybody if you hadn't.'_

Sighing, she picked up the phone. She couldn't allow herself to continue this train of thought. It wouldn't do anyone any good. Barely looking at the pad, she keyed in the number and sat there listening to it ring. After a moment a familiar voice picked up.

"Hello," Marcus Johnson answered.

"Hey," Viv greeted feeling herself relax as soon as she heard his voice. On the other end of the phone Marcus frowned. He pulled off his remaining rubber glove and put it in the yellow biohazard bin behind the door. Leaning out of the door he called to his secretary.

"I'm taking five Marion. Hold my calls will you?" Marion nodded unable to reply as the phone started ringing.

"Do you want to talk about it," Marcus sank down into his comfy leather chair. Going private was the best thing he ever did.

In her office Vivian sighed almost imperceptibly. She didn't know why she had called her husband except for the comfort just hearing his voice gave. Pinching the bridge of her nose she tried to ward off the pressure that was building behind her eyes, giving her an instant and pounding headache. Part of her wanted desperately to talk about it, but the other half of her was scared that if she did her outward facade of control would crumble. She just wanted to forget it had ever happened.

"Did Reggie get to school ok?" Vivian asked, deliberately avoiding the subject. Marcus's face crumpled in sympathy. Whatever it was must be bad if she didn't want to talk about it now. They'd talk later, when they were together and at home.

"Reggie got to school just fine."

Vivian nodded feeling the small pinprick of pain that assaulted her every time she missed out on part of her son's life - even if it wasn't an important part. She could never be like Jack and put the job first, before everything. Some things had to take precedence and family commitments were one of those things. She had never missed a birthday, or a parent-teacher conference or even a little-league game when he was younger. She knew for a fact that Jack had missed all three on more than one occasion. The work they did was important. They worked in possibly the most important unit in the bureau. Not important in terms of what they did, they weren't flashy like counter-terrorism or fraud. But they saved lives and that was what truly mattered.

"He told me this morning that he's got a calculus test on Friday. He then asked me if he could sleep over Michael's Thursday night, ostensibly to study." Marcus continued keeping up a conversation of comforting normalcy.

"Night before a test, I don't think so," Vivian commented.

Before she could get any further, Danny chose that moment to tap on the glass wall of her office.

She reluctantly gestured to Danny that she'd be there in a minute. Danny nodded and headed off presumably to the interrogation room.

"I have to go."

"Ok," Marcus replied, hesitatingly adding, "See you tonight?"

Vivian bit her lip. She wanted nothing more than to be there; she wanted nothing more than to go home. Real life just wasn't that easy though.

"I don't know. I hope so. It depends on how the case goes."

Marcus nodded understanding like always. In the early days of their marriage his career had kept him away from home a lot. Now he'd gone private he worked the more accommodating hours of nine till five. Vivian however, had worked a nine till five bureau job for the early days. He guessed it was fair that she now worked a lot. Just because it was fair though, didn't make him like it any more.

"Right, ok. Talk to you later then."

Marcus hung up and slipped his cell phone back into his pocket before leaning forward and buzzing his secretary. He was ready for his next patient now.

Vivian hearing the phone go dead, sadly after a long moment, replaced the receiver. Taking a deep breath she stood up, ready now to face whatever was thrown at her.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Just like I promised, regular updates! I should probably spin it out a little until I've done more on the next one but seeing as I have absolutely no plot in mind that might take a while. Thanks to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta. Thank you to everybody for all the reviews and referrals, they mean a lot to me. Enjoy!_  
_

_FBI Headquarters  
20.5 hours missing_

"I want a lawyer," Colin Masters repeated.

Jack shot Danny an exasperated glance. Colin Masters hadn't said anything else since he arrived at the Federal building.

Danny ignored Jack's glance by checking his watch. He was concerned that if he returned it he might convey more feelings than he intended. Whether Martin realised it or not, he'd put him in a very awkward position by confiding in him. He was now in possession of only a third of the facts, a circumstance that he was well aware of. He sympathised with Jack, Sam and Martin. Martin because he was hurt, Sam because she was confused and Jack because his family life had just been stripped away from him. He felt for _each _and _every_ one of them, consequently he didn't want to take sides. However, Martin had unwittingly made the choice for him. He was now, whether he wanted to be or not, firmly on Martin's side and involved in something that could in all likelihood not be resolved peacefully. There was going to be fall out and he'd accidentally reserved a piece of it for himself.

"Your lawyer will be here soon," Jack told him, completely perplexed by Danny's behaviour.

Danny had been the only member of the team with whom things had not changed. His relationship with Vivian, and quite possibly Sam, was beyond repair. Martin seemed to be harbouring some resentment towards him, although just _why_ he hadn't quite worked out yet. Danny had been, Jack realised, his rock. Perhaps presumptuously, he had been certain that, whatever happened, Danny would still be there, cracking jokes and keeping the situation within the realm of normality. But _something_ had now changed, and Jack found himself wishing fervently that it hadn't.

"I'm not saying anything until my lawyer gets here," Colin Masters added unnecessarily, staring defiantly at Danny. "I know my rights."

Neither Jack nor Danny bothered to reply, each lost in their own thoughts.

Just then a knock came at the door, a moment later it opened and an agent showed Colin Master's lawyer in. Any slim hope that Jack had held out, on getting Colin Masters to talk, evaporated as fast as a drop of water in the midday sun.

Master's lawyer was none other than Eric Powell - the highest-priced, smartest-talking lawyer in town. Eric walked over to the interview table noticing everything there was to notice about the room, from where Jack and Danny stood to the number of cracks in the paint. Jack knew from experience that Eric Powell used the simplest of facts to destroy the most rock-solid of cases. Many years ago he'd been an ambulance chaser and he still hadn't lost that slimy attitude that had served him so well. If Jack hadn't known who he was, and he'd seen him on the street, he would have put money on him being involved in drugs or possibly prostitution. He dressed seemingly unashamedly like a pimp in designer silk suits and highly polished leather shoes. It was all Jack could do to conceal his disgust at having to deal with him – today of all days.

Eric Powell set his briefcase down on the table with an understated thump before asking in a quiet voice which Jack almost had to strain to here,

"Have you charged my client yet, Agent Malone?"

"Not _yet_," Jack replied keeping his voice even and making sure to emphasise the word _yet_. He knew the nuance wouldn't be lost on Powell.

"Do you have evidence of a crime?" Powell turned his whole body to face Jack, his steel blue eyes staring intently at the agent.

"We have evidence that Mr Masters lied to a Federal Agent. We could charge him with impeding a Federal Investigation."

Danny looked between Eric Powell and Jack, feeling as if he was witnessing a battle of wills. He knew of course that Jack had dealt with Eric Powell before but he didn't know that there was something personal between them. There definitely had to be something personal, there was no other way to explain it.

"I believe Agent Malone that the emphasis is on the word _could. _If you had been going to charge my client then you would have done so already."

Jack bit his lip. Powell was right as always. Colin Masters was one smart cookie. He'd refused to say anything without a lawyer and now he had a lawyer he wouldn't be saying anything at all. He'd proved by his unwillingness to cooperate that he had something to hide, but then they already knew that by the CCTV tape. They had nothing on him yet and he would walk for now.

"That is true yes," Jack admitted finally through gritted teeth - noticing with annoyance that Powell had permitted himself one of his rare smiles.

"Then my client is free to go. Mr Masters." Eric Powell gestured for Colin Master's to walk out in front of him. He picked up his briefcase and walked to the door. He paused just before leaving and turned to Jack.

"Nice seeing you again, Agent Malone."

Jack barely managed to make himself acknowledge the statement. As soon as the lawyer had left, Jack breathed a small sigh of relief. Ignoring Danny's curious glance, though grateful, in part, that Danny was curious, Jack counted to ten to make sure that Eric Powell was long gone before leaving the interrogation room and heading to the unit.

_FBI Headquarters  
21 hours missing_

The air was gloomy and the mood was dismal as everybody sat at the conference table. Mercifully, both Jack and Vivian were too lost in their own thoughts to dwell on what happened earlier, thus rendering the atmosphere no-where near as awkward as anticipated.

Martin, unable to help himself, kept shooting Sam curious glances. It was obvious to anyone who knew her that she was unhappy. Part of him, while not knowing what he'd do if this was the case, hoped that she was unhappy because she regretted breaking it off with him. The other, more reasonable, part of him knew that it was because of Jack and the confusing situation that he had created.

Now, if there ever was a man for confusion it was Jack. In hindsight, Martin realised, he should have known that Jack's move to Chicago wouldn't work out. The way he'd told them should have set alarm bells ringing. _'My wife was offered a really good job in Chicago and she took it, so she's moving there and I've decided to go with her.' _His wife had taken a job a thousand miles away, a decision that hadn't involved Jack. No, the decision that involved him was whether or not he would go with her. He hadn't exactly grown up with the world's most happily married parents, but he knew that that was not the normal way for that situation to go down in a marriage. He should have realised then that this charade that had become their lives was far from over.

"Suggestions?" Vivian asked suddenly breaking into Martin's contemplative thoughts, Jack's unwanted trip down memory lane and Sam's distracted examination of Anthony's notes. Danny was the only ready for the question.

"Colin Masters isn't going to give us anything," Danny stated. He knew that everybody already knew that, but it was a comment, a starting place. He knew that as a unit they were falling apart, no longer pulling together as they should. Consequently every session like this, he tried to start off a discussion because everybody now needed a basis to work from. They couldn't just throw out comments, opinions and ideas anymore. The atmosphere didn't allow it, that saddened him more than he'd ever let on. As a unit they'd always had the best of working relationships. He guessed that the working relationships had suffered when it had got personal. That was one of the reasons why he was always so careful not to mix business with pleasure. While he enjoyed the friendship of his colleagues he still preferred to stay mainly colleagues. The expression _'don't piss where you work' _was an expression for a reason, something they'd all do well to remember.

"I'm no further on the notes," Sam contributed suddenly. "All I've got is that the notations refer to specific files, but then we could have guessed that."

Vivian sighed, saddened beyond belief that her last case in command was going to end this way. She felt this drive, this urgency, this need to find this missing person. She had to close this case. It wasn't that she had something to prove exactly, she just needed to finish this case the right way. The way it was supposed to be, with Anthony Bates at home with his family and friends, where he belonged.

"It's a start though," Martin interjected, reading Vivian's dejected expression and wanting, no needing, to give her back some hope.

They needed hope to do this job, to find their missing person because missing didn't necessarily mean gone. They were, as Jack had told him once, people's last resort. If they gave up hope then missing people would stay missing, lost forever; families would stay incomplete, unable to move on because of the not knowing and a little piece of him, a little piece of everybody who worked missing persons would stay missing forever. It was often said that people who worked a unit for a long time embodied that unit. Martin thought it was the other way round. That people chose to work in a unit, probably subconsciously, because there was something about them that _was_ that unit. For homicide it was the need to avenge people's senseless, premature deaths. For counter terrorism it was the need to protect one's country, the patriot that was inside everybody making its mark. For missing persons it was that part that the investigators themselves were missing. Everybody in the unit had their secrets, their little boxes of issues that nobody would ever see. Martin had his just as Danny had his and Sam and Vivian and Jack. In every missing person they found, a little piece of them was restored. In every missing person they didn't find, a little piece of them was lost forever. Such was the way of the world.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "If we have individual files to look at then maybe we won't need Anthony's notes. We'll just have to discover for ourselves what he found. When we do maybe we'll find him." Danny looked across to Martin and cracked an evil grin. This was just the opening he needed to brighten this place up. "The time has come for our resident white collar guy to prove his worth."

"Haven't I already?" Martin smiled, pretending to be upset at Danny's insinuation. Danny looked sceptically at him, a small smirk playing across his lips. As the light hearted banter began the atmosphere lightened erasing even some of Sam's worry lines.

"Oh yeah, for a rookie you've done . . . ok I guess."

Jack turned his head from watching the playful interaction that had taken long enough to arrive but had never truly gone away. When Martin had arrived it had been touch and go for sometime as to whether or not he would fit in - the deputy director's son, always a difficult person to place. After all, it just screamed trouble. Co-workers thought that if you upset him he'd run crying to daddy and they'd end up writing traffic tickets in South Dakota. Thankfully Martin hadn't lived up to the stereo-type. He didn't even have the tendencies. Once Danny had managed to cast his suspicions away he'd realised that fact and they'd been friends ever since. Right now though, he wasn't in the mood even for a 'Danny poking fun at Martin special'. Eric Powell had got under his skin, bringing Master's with him. That made Jack need to nail him and consequently he wasn't in the mood for wasting time. Clearing his throat loudly he stared at Vivian. After a long moment she realised what he was getting at, feeling only a vague stab of annoyance that he'd pointed it out.

"Martin, Danny. You and I are going to go through these files. If there's something to be found then we're going to find it. Jack, Samantha. I want you two to interview Anthony's mother. She probably won't be able to tell you much but maybe her Carers will. Whatever the case we need to check that box," Vivian ordered.

Feeling grateful for the physical activity Jack almost sprang out of his seat and out the door. Sam followed at a slower rate.

"I guess you're going to find out first hand exactly what I did in Seattle," Martin grinned at Danny. He knew that when Danny had suggested this course of action he hadn't, in a million years, considered that he might have to pitch in. Danny just smiled sarcastically at him as he started to sort through the files.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** **_Mariel _**to be honest I'm not sure why I put that in. I think it was something to do with Martin thinking that Danny was on his side and Danny not wanting to rock the boat by not being there for him as he thinks he is there for him. It made sense when I wrote it but then I guess it would do. Thanks for all the reviews, they really do make my day. Enjoy!_  
_

_Bartholemews Nursing Home  
22 hours missing_

Sam looked around her, taking in the faded paintwork, tired furniture and the distinct odour of urine. This place, while not exactly the rat-infested hellhole that it could have been, wasn't exactly the Renaissance hotel either. By all accounts Anthony adored his mother and that image did not equate to the surroundings she was in.

"Thank you, if you wouldn't mind," Jack sighed to the receptionist.

His tone, to all outward appearances, was sincere but Sam knew better. This was Jack at his most sarcastic. He'd just spent five minutes trying to get the receptionist to at least call the head nurse. It had only been when he'd threatened to charge her with impeding a Federal investigation that she'd relented.

"I swear these people take a course in how to infuriate a Federal officer. Protecting patients' privileges, what a load of bullshit," Jack hissed under his breath.

For what felt like the first time in years, Sam suppressed a smile. Right now everything was normal between them, the way it had been before his announcement - a time when they could enjoy each others company without there being awkwardness and confusion. True, that time hadn't contained the many defining moments of their relationship. Those moments had been before, back when Jack's marriage was firmly on the rocks, the time when his wife should have ended it. Instead she hadn't and those glorious moments that she and Jack had shared had ended, pushed aside because it was the right thing to do.

Oh, she understood all right. Jack had to try and make it work; it was the type of man he was. He believed strongly in family values, that children needed to be brought up with a mom and a dad. At least that was the official reason he gave for sticking with it so long. But it wasn't the true one. The reason was still his daughters but not because of family values. She had found out the same day the rest of the office had, she'd been slightly upset at the time that he'd never told her, particularly when she thought about all the things that she'd told him. Then she'd understood and everything had started to make sense, causing the pain to ebb slightly.

His mother had left him by killing herself. Therefore Jack couldn't leave his daughters. True, his separation from his mother was permanent, whereas he'd still get to see Hanna and Kate. However, Jack had also suffered from an absent father. While many could say, herself included, that he made himself an absent father by working the hours he did, Jack didn't think of it like that. He thought that if he still slept at home most nights then he was there, not like his father who was away for months at a time with that army. All these facts caused her to understand why their relationship had ended. That hadn't stopped it from hurting though.

Over the year they had been separated she'd thought she'd moved on. Her thoughts had stopped drifting to Jack, her heart ceased to ache. Then came the announcement. _'My wife was offered a really good job in Chicago and she took it, so she's moving there and I have decided to go with her.'_ That one sentence made a lie of her moving on. She knew that, it was a fact. That one sentence, spoken so calmly, with so much detachment, made it feel like she'd been shot again, only this time it was her heart that screamed with pain, not her thigh. For the first time ever, she'd allowed her emotions to show at work, she'd cried. The only other time she'd come close to breaking down was after he'd told her it was over. That time, even though the statement had been final, it carried no finality with it, hope had sprung eternal. That announcement though, it had sounded as final as hell. He had been going to move a thousand miles away, to another city. There had been no hope, although thinking back she should have known, nothing with Jack was ever truly cut and dried. His saying _'it ain't over till it's over'_ should have come to mind.

As it was she'd lost hope, she'd lost Jack. The fact that he was here, in New York, to stay threw everything she'd felt and thought out of the window. He was single now. That thought sent a shiver down her spine. However, did she still want him? More importantly did Jack even still have feelings for her? Then there was Martin who complicated this complicated situation even more. True she'd told him it was over, that it had been a one night stand, something not to be repeated. She could tell he still had feelings for her though, which was more than she could say for Jack.

It was all just so confusing. What made one sense one day didn't make sense the next. One thing was for sure though, that night at the bar she'd acted on impulse. She wasn't going to do that again. Martin would only end up getting even more hurt than he was already, something she didn't want to happen as she did truly care about him. From now on she'd think everything through before acting. Hopefully this damn confusion would clear and help her out of this mess. Just then Jack put a hand on her shoulder, sending a familiar warm feeling to her brain.

"Are you ok?" Jack asked concerned. He'd just spent the last ten minutes talking to the Head Nurse. All that time Sam had stood motionless, staring at a painting that had looked to him when he'd first came in like a blank canvas. Dust and sunlight had faded the countryside scene that had been depicted. However, Sam wasn't into paintings and besides he was fairly certain that she hadn't even noticed that there was one there. That left the question as to why she'd been so deeply lost in thought. A fleeting shadow passed across Jack's face, he didn't want to answer that.

"I'm fine." Sam attempted a smile. She'd noticed the flash of guilt that had crossed Jack's face. This situation was becoming awkward again, in fact she could swear that it was getting more awkward by the day. She didn't remember it being this awkward on the Parker case.

"Ok." Jack didn't look convinced. "The Head Nurse has graciously given us five minutes."

Sam nodded and started to follow Jack down the hall to the communal room. There was no need to ask which one Mrs Bates was as her carer stood next to her chair waiting for them.

"Mrs Bates. I'm Special Agent Jack Malone. This is Special Agent Samantha Spade. We're with the FBI and we'd like to ask you a few questions about your son. Is that ok?"

Jack sat down in the chair across from Mrs Bates, wondering now if he should have offered his hand. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't, the situations were normally clear. This wasn't one of them.

Mrs Bates didn't reply which Jack took to be a yes. "When did you last see your son?"

No reply. Jack waited for a long moment before looking at Sam and then at the carer.

"As I'm sure you've already been told Agent Malone, this is a waste of your time. Hilda has advanced Alzheimer's. You do know what Alzheimer's is, don't you?" the carer asked impatiently.

Jack bit his lip, the truth could work here. It might get her to cool the animosity.

"Yes I know what Alzheimer's is. My father was just diagnosed."

"Oh," the carer said, taken aback and completely mollified.

"I also know that Alzheimer's doesn't render people dumb," Jack continued. The carer shook her head.

"No it doesn't. Hilda can still speak. It's just she's reached the stage where she can no longer remember how."

Jack closed his eyes momentarily. He didn't want to hear about it. His father was in the first stages. That meant this was all to come.

Sam, sitting next to him, suddenly had this overwhelming urge to comfort him. Instead she posed the next question.

"Perhaps you can help us then. When did Mr Bates last visit?"

"Three days ago. It was just like usual . . ."

_Flashback Nursing home_

Anthony Bates walked in the door to the communal room, a bunch of flowers in his hand and a grin plastered onto his face. The carer came over to meet him.

"Good evening Anthony, shall I take these and put them in water?" she asked, smiling at him with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. Instead concern resided there. Anthony's mother meant to world to him and as she'd told him two days ago when he'd last visited, she didn't have long left.

"The answer, as always, is yes. How is she?" Anthony handed the carer the flowers, the grin on his face momentarily disappearing letting his true emotions surface. He was anxious, stressed and tired looking, like he hadn't had enough sleep.

"The same," the carer replied. Anthony nodded, sticking the grin back on his face he headed over to sit in the same chair that Jack was sitting in now, before the carer could ask after his health.

_End Flashback Nursing Home_

"You know he brought her flowers ever week without fail. He thought they brightened up her room. He also always made an effort to be upbeat and cheerful, as if a positive attitude would help."

Jack nodded soberly, wondering if he'd be like that minus the flowers. He'd never really had a very good relationship with his father. That was one of the things he was now trying to rectify. However, maybe because they shared too many of the same qualities, they would always argue more than they talked. Being cheerful around each other was like trying to mix oil and water, it never happened. But if his father changed then maybe it could?

"Did he seem bothered by anything? Was there anything unusual?" Sam continued the interview.

She shot a glance at Jack who had suddenly become fascinated by his shoes. Given Jack's emotional state Vivian should never have sent him here. Although if she hadn't known about his father, then there was a better than even chance, that Vivian didn't know either.

"No, not really. It was just a normal visit. He seemed a little tired, but that could have been because I'd told him the previous visit that his mother didn't have long to live. That would upset anybody but Anthony really was dedicated to his mother."

The carer looked at Sam's sceptical expression and sighed. "I know what you're thinking, this place doesn't look like much. If he truly cared about her he would have placed her somewhere else. But that's not true. He'd really looked into it. While the decor might not be perfect the care given is first class. I've only been here a month but it's the best place I've ever worked. The staff really care about their charges, not just about the check that comes end of every month."

"Right, well thank you for your time." Sam stood up, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. If what the carer said was true then she'd judged on appearances, something she tried desperately hard not to do.

Jack, after a moment, followed suit.

"Thank you Mrs Bates," Jack added just before they left. Just because she had Alzheimer's didn't mean she wasn't a person - a person that they had just ignored, and talked about, as if she wasn't there, even though in a way she wasn't. Nobody saw the silent tear that trickled down her cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Thanks to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta, I owe you big time. Thanks as well for all the reviews, they do really mean the world to me and make writing this worthwhile as well as enjoyable. Only one chapter after this and I warn you, it may seem JS are going to be happy after this but this is a pretty big twist coming up. Enjoy!

_FBI Headquarters  
22 hours missing_

Danny groaned inwardly. They'd been working on the files for only an hour, but all the numbers were making his head spin. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to running the numbers because he was. On the last case they'd had, he'd done all the financial legwork that had nailed Tom Douglas. That had been basic high school math though because Tom Douglas had been no criminal genius. Whoever was behind this, probably Colin Masters, knew what they were doing and had disguised it well. Martin had told him what to look for because Danny knew, from his short stint in the counter espionage department, that good tradecraft looked like tradecraft when you studied it closely. There was something as too much training, too much skill, a fact that betrayed undercover cops everyday.

"I'm going for a coffee," Danny decided. He needed a break from this numbers game even if it was just for five minutes.

"I'll come with you," Martin tossed his notes and a pen down on the table. "Get you anything?" he asked Vivian. Vivian shook her head, like Samantha earlier, she needed to concentrate. "Ok," Martin acknowledged, walking off to join Danny by the coffee machine. After a moment of silence spent looking round the unit Danny decided to speak.

"You know Eric Powell?"

Martin frowned.

"The slimy defence attorney?" Danny nodded getting two cups off the rack and searching for the coffee jar. "I know of him, yeah. And we've met a few times. Why?"

"I just wondered if you knew what was with him and Jack. Jack seems to hate him."

Martin thought for a moment, casting his memory back to the times he and Jack had met the man.

"I guess he would," Martin said slowly, considering it. "Eric Powell was Spaulding's defence attorney."

Danny nodded. He suddenly understood and knew that this case would now be personal for Jack. What with all the personal issues in the pot already, he hoped it wasn't one to many.

_FBI Headquaters  
24 hours missing_

I've got it," Martin announced triumphantly, walking quickly into the unit, waving a wedge of files in the air.

"Lay it out for me," Vivian ordered, turning round to face Martin. She had been staring at the whiteboard and the fragile timeline that was Anthony Bates life. It seemed that for all their day's hard work, they really didn't have much to show for it. They still didn't have a recorded sighting of him after eight yesterday evening, when he'd been caught on CCTV getting into an elevator. For all her training, she couldn't rid herself of the feeling that they weren't going to find him. It hadn't even been forty-eight hours yet, nothing like in fact, there was nothing to support that they weren't going to find him but still she couldn't shake the sick feeling at the pit of her stomach.

"Right, well I've been all through the files. There's definitely something funky going on. Every month there's been a money transfer from each of the accounts Anthony listed. Exactly five percent of the profits made. Now, to an idle observer, that could easily be interpreted as a standing order, or a commissions fee, or something like that. Colin Masters authorised all the transfers."

Vivian nodded, digesting the information. If what Martin said was true, and of that she had no doubt, then they had enough to charge and hold Masters. However, his lawyer, as ever, complicated matters. With any ordinary lawyer Masters would be advised to talk, within reason of course. With Eric Powell it was different. Masters wouldn't talk, not even to say his own name. They would never get anything out of him.

"Hang on, I thought that a transfer needed two signatures," Vivian thought suddenly.

Martin nodded, smiling slightly.

"David Gristoft."

_FBI Headquarters  
25 hours missing_

Danny paced up and down the interrogation room. David Gristoft followed his passage with his eyes, his unease growing with every minute that passed. Vivian stood off to the side, leaning slightly against the wall, her arms folded across her chest.

"You're in very serious trouble, Mr Gristoft," Vivian told him, slowly and deliberately. "Money is money, I understand that. A man is missing though and that's a hell of a lot more serious."

David Gristoft swallowed hard, a thin layer of perspiration covering his forehead.

"You could be accessory to murder, Mr Gristoft."

Danny sat down, pulling the chair round so that he could lean on the back and stare intently at his suspect.

"I didn't know, I didn't," David Gristoft suddenly shouted, twitching nervously.

Vivian and Danny shared a look, divide and conquer by picking off the weakest link.

"Where is he Mr Gristoft?" Vivian asked, her eyes boring a hole through Gristoft's skull.

He moved uneasily, his hands placed on the table, one hand fiddling with his watch strap as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this mess.

"I don't know," he confessed. "Colin Masters phoned me early this morning. He said that Anthony had discovered what we doing and was going to blow the whistle."

_Flashback phone conversation_

"What do you mean he knows?" David Gristoft demanded, walking angrily over to his window. The weather was matching his mood, it was bucketing with rain. The rain was so heavy that it had obscured the empire state building.

"I don't know how he knows but he knows," Colin Masters told him walking round his car to the trunk. He had his grey wall street issue raincoat on, now he understood why it was wall street issue, designed to make you look important but waterproof.

"What are we going to do?" Gristoft asked, panicking and making his heart race. That wasn't good for his blood pressure. Mind you sleeping on his office couch wasn't good for his back, but that's what he'd done last night. He couldn't believe his wife had kicked him out again, wasn't he a good husband? Didn't he buy her everything she asked for? Wincing slightly he tried to get the kink of his neck.

Colin Masters sighed, he might have known that Gristoft would react like this. He was too lily-livered for anything. Just as well he'd already taken the matter into his own hands.

"Don't worry David. Get yourself a nice lawyer and sit tight. I'll take care of the rest."

"What do you mean take care of it?" David Gristoft voice rose in anxiety. A dull click was his only answer.

_End Flashback phone conversation_

"Do you think that Colin Masters could have killed him?" Danny asked, shooting a sidewards glance at Vivian. He knew how much she wanted to find him alive. He just didn't think that was going to happen.

"Probably. Oh god." David Gristoft put his head in his hands.

Vivian gave him a moment to regain his composure before asking the next question.

"Where would he dump the body? Does he have a cabin in the woods or . .?"

"Yeah, he's got a cabin. One of the things he bought with the money." Gristoft answered, looking between Danny and Vivian, looking for an ounce of sympathy. He was disappointed.

"We're going to need an address," Danny told him.

David Gristoft nodded, resigned now to his fate.

_FBI Headquarters  
25.5 hours missing_

Sam sighed as she checked her watch. Danny and Vivian had headed off, half an hour ago, to Colin Masters' cabin in the hills. All they could do now was wait - the part she hated the most. She glanced over to Martin's desk. He was catching up on the dinner he'd missed and some paperwork. Feeling her own stomach complain that she'd missed lunch and dinner Sam stood up. She wasn't in the mood for the greasy burger Martin was devouring with apparent relish. Perhaps Jack was hungry? They could get some chinese or something.

Jack had reclaimed his office ten minutes after Vivian had left. She had a sneaking suspicion it was so he could call his divorce attorney. Jack had his back to her, his jacket had long ago been discarded and his tie was hanging loosely around his neck. He was slouched back in his chair with his feet up on the desk. He was on the phone again, perhaps his divorce attorney had called back. Sam paused just inside the door, unwilling to intrude.

"Ok sweetie. Can I talk to Hanna now?" Jack asked. Sam could hear the desperation in his voice. Things obviously weren't going well at home. After a long moment she saw his shoulders slump in resignation and defeat.

"All right, honey. I understand. Tell her I love her. I love you. Bye."

Jack hung up and in a sudden and unexpected show of temper slammed the receiver down. Sam stood there feeling very uncomfortable. There was a pause before Jack realised that somebody was watching him. He looked up and met Sam's eyes. Sam almost immediately had to break the contact. His eyes were so full of sorrow and pain she couldn't bear it.

"I just wondered if you were hungry," Sam explained. Jack checked his watch. It was nine thirty. Now Sam mentioned it, he started to feel his stomach growl.

"Yeah I guess. What do you want? Chinese?" Sam nodded and Jack picked up the phone and dialled Hop Lee's. It was just round the corner and they were used to hungry FBI Agents requesting takeout at odd times.

Sam listened while Jack ordered. It was such a comforting sound, conjuring up many happy memories of times past.

"It'll be ten minutes," Jack told her hanging up. "Didn't Martin want anything?"

"He's got a burger."

Jack rolled his eyes, pleasantly surprised by the light tone this conversation was taking. It was almost like old times. The two of them grabbing takeout while they waited for the call to find out if their missing person had just changed from being twenty-six hours missing say, to twenty-six hours dead or alternatively been found alive and well. It was normally a long wait and a very lonely one if you only had your thoughts for company.

"So . ." Sam didn't know what to say. There were so many topics of conversation that were out of bounds and she'd never been particularly good at small talk. Jack, in turn, was desperate not to lose the good atmosphere that had unexpectedly cropped up between them but just like earlier he was suddenly desperate to confide in her.

"I was just talking to Kate, saying good night. Hanna won't talk to me," Jack sighed. "Maria's turned her against me. I think she hates me."

Sam didn't know what to say. This was something Jack would have always feared, the reason why he'd tried so hard to make it work.

"I'm sorry Jack. I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Sam perched on the edge of Jack's desk.

He looked up and met her eyes.

"She does."

The breath caught in Sam's throat. He looked desolate and more miserable than she ever could have imagined. Not for the first time that day she felt an overwhelming urge to comfort him. Gingerly she moved her hand so that it rested on top of his. For one long moment they stayed like that, until the ringing phone brought them back to reality.

"Yes," Jack answered, the tiredness evident in his voice. It was clear that the person on the other end was speaking. "Ok." He hung up and looked back up to Sam. "They've found him."


	10. Chapter 10

_Outside cabin in the hills  
_

Vivian walked over to her car. Behind her the rescue team were bringing Anthony Bates body up the hill from the ravine below. He'd been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. Death had been instantaneous and occurred at least twelve hours before they'd been brought on the case. Yet Vivian still felt that they'd failed. This of all cases should have ended right, as selfish as it was she'd wanted, no needed it to. The failure left a bitter taste in her mouth. She'd never wanted to go home more than she did now.

_CTT Headquarters  
_

An agent marched Colin Masters out of his office in handcuffs as Danny looked on. They'd confronted him with the finding of Anthony's body. There had been no reaction. His only words were that he wanted his lawyer. How anybody could be that cold and unfeeling, that callous, he didn't know. Anthony had supposedly been his best friend and yet he'd shown not one shred of remorse over his death. Money had done that. Money corrupted people. It was the number one reason why people went missing and was responsible for most crime - whatever form it took. He wasn't a socialist and he liked money as well as anybody, he just hated what it did to people. Greed was a terrible thing, nearly as bad as addiction, in fact in a way it was an addiction. That thought gave him plenty to ponder over as he drove Colin Masters back to the FBI for booking.

_FBI Headquarters  
_

Jack walked out of his office intent on going for some coffee. He knew it was late and that he should go home but he didn't want to. He hadn't been sleeping very well anyway and this would be the first night back in his apartment. It would be very quiet and devoid of personal items. Maria had taken everything on the premise that they could work it out later. In a way that was a blessing because there wouldn't be reminders everywhere or what had once been. However, it was a double-edged sword, nothing there symbolised the fact that he'd lost it all. That he'd failed.

Jack paused outside the bullpen. Martin and Sam were still there clearly packing up for the night. Martin walked over to Sam's desk once he'd finished and lingered there talking to her. They could have just been talking about the case but Jack knew they weren't. He knew because he'd once done exactly the same thing Martin was and received exactly the same looks. _'After all this' _Jack thought _'It's really over' _He didn't feel angry, he didn't feel anything. _'Perhaps if you truly love somebody you can only show that by letting them go' _

"You deserve to be happy, Sam," Jack whispered to himself, needing to say it even if she couldn't hear him. "I hope Martin can give you what you want. I'm just sorry that I couldn't." With that Jack walked over to the elevator, he needed to leave, he needed to get out of here, he needed to think.

_'You made your choice Jack. Now you've got to live with the consequences.'_

**A/N: **This one's all done. There's going to be one more in this series and that's going to be Fools Game. I had written here that it would be Harder to Breathe but I changed my mind. Hope you all enjoyed this story and I promise it's not as bleak as it looks. Thanks to cynically optimistic for being an amazing beta.

ETA: This did have music lyrics in, like it does on the show, but I removed them because it asked all writers to remove lyrics they hadn't written to avoid account closure. I want to keep me account


End file.
